“All right, slow your roll,” he cautioned, slowly removing his fingers from inside me. My hole felt sensitive and a little sore, but the way he rubbed the rim gently before pulling back completely made me forget.
“You didn’t use a condom.” I pointed out the obvious.
“You’re mine,” he replied as if that were explanation enough.
It was.
“Be careful getting up.” His voice was gentle. Not at all the menacing tone he’d used with Tommy.
I started to slide off, but my stiff hip protested, and my knee didn’t want to straighten. I slid to the side, both hands landing on the cushion for balance.
Hiro moved quickly but more gracefully than I’d ever been and wrapped an arm around my waist and stood, straighteningus both. I stretched out alongside him, feeling the protest in my limbs while flexing my fingers at my sides.
“Pip,” he started, voice laden with concern.
“Be right back!” I said, dashing (okay, stumbling) toward the sink.
It was a gut punch the second I saw the black headphones submerged in water. They were ruined. Completely ruined.
How was I supposed to work later? I could call off, but I needed the money. I could maybe run out and buy a new pair, which meant spending some of my emergency fund, possibly running into Tommy on the street, and forgoing that nap I was so looking forward to.
My shoulders felt heavy as I weighed my options and dipped my hand into the sink to pull the headphones from the water. A sad sound echoed from somewhere deep inside me as I wrapped them in the single kitchen towel I owned.
“He do that?” Hiro demanded from behind me.
I didn’t answer, my attention on the half-eaten bowl of cereal sitting on the counter. The empty box was on its side, and raisins littered the laminate. Did he just pick them out and eat the flakes? Why would he eat my food if he didn’t even like it?
Because he could.
Listen, I know Raisin Bran (off-brand) wasn’t the most exciting cereal, but it had raisins, which was like getting cerealandfruit in one place. That made it healthy. Right?
The uneaten cereal in the bowl looked like brown mush, and I averted my eyes to the open cabinets and the way the slim contents had all been rifled through.
Gingerly, I set down the ruined headset and turned toward my desk, which was collapsed on the floor with stuff scattered everywhere. Worry clenched my stomach so tight that I almost doubled over. What if he messed up my laptop too? He did say he looked through it and was mad I didn’t have any good games. If it was damaged, my boss would expect me to pay for it, and he might make me purchase a new one!
I dove toward the computer lying on the floor, but before I could hit the ground, a hand caught me beneath my arm, keeping me upright.
“Pip, did that asshole do all this?” Hiro asked.
“I need to make sure my laptop isn’t damaged. I could get fired!” I insisted, trying to wiggle away.
He released me, and I dropped onto my knees, pain radiating up my thighs. Tugging the metal object closer, I lifted the lid and hit the power button on the side.
I took not one single breath as I waited for it to come to life. The logo flashed and flickered like it was trying to decide if it was going to cooperate, and after long, harrowing moments, the home screen appeared. I let out a squeak of relief.
Quickly, I pulled up some of the screens I used for work, and all of them said,Unable to process your request. Panicked, I pulled up the internet connection to see that I was offline.
Leaving the laptop open on the floor, I spun, frantically searching for the router.
“Where is it?” I stressed, turning in a circle.
“What’s missing?” Hiro asked.
“My router. I need it for work!” I said urgently, picking upsome manuals to look beneath them.
“This thing?” he asked, picking up the device from beside the couch.
Sagging in relief, I grabbed it from his hands to study it. It didn’t look broken. Just unplugged. It must have happened when the table collapsed.
